Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

1830-1842.] FORMER INFREQUENCY OF MURDER.

145

2. Annual Reports of the Secretary of State and Superintendent of
Common Schools, as follows:
(a) January 8, 1834, pp. 104, of which 30 are the report proper.
(b) " 7,1835, " 107, " 34 L " 4
(c) " 6,1836, " 120, " 47 " "
(d) " 1837,
(e) " 5,1838, " 109, " 25 " " "
(f) " 3,1839, " 163, " 44 " " "
At the end of this last report are some very interesting observations on the libraries of the district schools, a subject in
which he took great interest.
3. Special Reports by the Secretary of State, during a period of six
years, among which are one respecting convictions for criminal offences,
and another made when transmitting reports of the New York and Erie
Railroad Company.
It is a remarkable fact that murders were so rare in those
days that, whenever one occurred, it gave a shock to the community. My impression is that during one year there was
not a single conviction for murder in the State of New York.
I remember a house which stood near the roadside, a little
way below the city; in it a man named John Whipple was
murdered by one Jesse Strang, who was tried, convicted, and
executed in the summer of 1827. The peculiar circumstances
of the case gave it notoriety; and the scene of the crime had
a mysterious fascination for us. We children never passed
that way without profound sensations, whispering that it was
the house in which "the murder" was committed. Now
there is a murder every day, and few give it a second thought,
so familiar are we grown with that primal, monstrous outrage
against God and man.
Reference has been made to the thorough organization of
the Democratic Republican party during Governor Marcy's
administration. A powerful combination against it was formed by a union of all the elements opposed to the State and
national administrations. The success of this new movement
was in great measure due to the derangement of business and
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